Rosary bead unit



Oct. 18, 1960 A. J. HOBAN ROSARY BEAD UNIT Filed March 22, 1960 IN V EN TOR. ALBERT J HOB/1N A TTORNE) United States Patent ROSARY 'BEAD UNIT Albert J. Hoban, 200 Essex Road, North Kingstown, RI.

Filed Mar. 22, 1960, Ser. No. 16,891

2 Claims. (Cl. '35-23) The present invention relates to prayer beads and more particularly to a rosary bead unit attachable to the steering wheel of an automobile. I

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a rosary head unit modified to. represent the chain of a multiple of decades, with one decade and a set of counting beads.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rosary bead unit attachable to the steering wheel of an automobile and which is constructed in such a simple form as to permit its use accurately and unobstrusively by touch alone. This control of the counting by feel alone saves the users attention and renders the rosary bead unit adaptable for a wide variety of uses.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a simple but highly practical rosary assemblage which may be durably manufactured and sold at moderate cost and which is easily operated.

Other objects of the present invention will be, pointed out in part and become apparent in part in the following specification and. claims.

Prior art rosa'ries, comprised a succession of prayer designating beads, confined within casings or housings so that the chains or strings of beads could-be manipulated from the exteriors of the enclosures to cause the same to traverserdefinite paths so as to avoidentanglement of the chains while facilitating the saying of prayers. Most of these prior rosary assemblages require the use of complicated movable parts such as rotors cooperating with the rosary chains. In one of the prior rosary units the chain of beads is caused to slidably coact with stationary circuitous runways formed within the confining housing which is provided with a local peripheral access opening through which the beads can be advanced by hand while prayers are being said.

These prior art units with stationary guides have proven satisfactory and superior to those employing movable carriers for the beads. However, it has been found difficult in commercial production to constantly insure free sliding of the beads along the runways because of variation in lengths of the guides and rosary strings, and also due to such variations as may be caused by expansion or contraction of the guides and chains resulting from temperature changes.

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide an improved rosary assemblage in which the rosary chain is completely eliminated and wherein free longitudinal advancement of the rosary beads is assured at all times and which condenses the relatively great length of prior art rosaries.

Referring to the drawing wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the new and improved rosary bead unit.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.

Figure 3 is a tranverse cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken along line 44 of Figure 2.

2,956,349 Patented Oct. 18, 1960 "ice Figure 5 is a bottom plan viewof Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a left side elevational view of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a right side elevational view of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawing, the improved rosary bead unit comprises an inverted U-shaped housing, generally indicated by reference character 11. Housing 11 is provided with tapered sides 8 and 9 and with sloping opposite ends 12, 13. Two slots 14, 15 are provided along the medial line of surface 7. Surface 7 may be termed the face surface of the rosary bead unit. Underlying slots 14, 15 and along the medial line of slots 14, 15 is an enlarged slot area forming side rails 30, 31 and shoulders 32, 33. A plurality of beads are provided; four in number in i slot 14 and ten in number in slot 15. Each head is identical in construction one with the other. Therefore, the structure of only one bead will be described in detail. A bead, generally indicated by reference character 69 (see Figure 4), consists of a half round head 20 having a flat sliding surface 21 adapted to slide along face surface 7. A ball 22 smaller in diameter than half round head 20 is integrally connected to fiat sliding surface 21 in a manner to provide circular recess 23. Shoulders 32, 33 lie in a plane with circular recess 23. The outside diameter of ball 22 lies opposite side rails 30, 31; Shoulders 32, 33 prevent the accidental displacement of head 69 from the slot in which it is slidably mounted;

A crucifix 35 is secured to tapered end 12. A religious medal 36 is secured to face surface 7. i

A pad 37 having a slot 38 is secured to tapered side 8. A pad 40 having a slot 41 is secured to tapered side 9 in diametrical alignment with pad 37. In like manner pads 42, 43 are secured to tapered side 8 in diametrical alignment with pads 44, 45 respectively, secured to ta-' pered side 9. Pads 42, 43, 44, 45 are provided with slots 46, 47, 48, 49 respectively.

A reenforcing strip 59 is secured on opposite sides to the inside surface of tapered side walls 8 and 9, respec-' tively to prevent inverted U-shaped housing 11 from spreading apart. In like manner, a similar reenforcing strip 59A is secured to opposite sides of the inside surface of tapered side walls 8 and 9 respectively.

A strap 65, shown in dot and dash Figure 4, may pass from slot 38 to slot 41 and thereby secure inverted U- shaped housing 11 to the steering wheel of an automobile or to another foreign object.

Tapered side 8 may be provided with integrally formed nobs constituting twenty in number in two banks of ten. Similarly, tapered side 9 may be provided with integrally formed nobs 81 constituting twenty in number in two banks of ten.

Thus a rosary bead unit is provided which may be fabricated from molded plastic material having suflicient resiliency to allow the ball 22 to pass between shoulders 32, 33 and be retained therebetween.

The rosary will be used in the following manner. The rosary may be attached to the steering wheel of an automobile or to the housing of a machine tool or other stationary object. The rosary is started by saying a prayer with a finger on the crucifix 35. The next five prayers are said with the finger advancing from bead 50 to 54 progressively with the completion of each prayer. A prayer is then said with a finger on medal 36.

The next 10 prayers are said starting with a finger on bead 60. As the prayer for bead 60 is completed head 60 is pushed to the top of slot 15. In turn the next nine beads are advanced toward head 60. Thus the ten beads in slot 60 are advanced from the left side (Figure l) of slot 15 to the right side of slot 15.

Bead 70 in slot 14 is advanced from the left side (Figure 1) of slot 14 to the right side of slot 14. Simultaneously, the ten beads in slot 15 are moved from the right side in slot 15 to the left side of slot 14. Beads 60, 61 etc. arenow advanced as previously described. When ten prayers are said, the next bead in slot 14 is advanced from the left side slot "14 (Figure '1) to the'right side of slot 15. Thus prayers aresaid on the ten beads in slot 15. A record of the number of times this decade of beads is used is kept by advancing thebeads in slot 14.

This procedure .is followed until the four beads in 'slot 14 are advanced from the left side (Figure 1) of slot .14 to the right side of slot 14. Then prayers are said once more on the decade of beads 60, etc. in slot 15. A prayer is then said with a finger on medal 36. Thus the saying of the rosary is completed.

The ball .round heads on sides 8 and 9 may be usedfor decorative purposes. As such they may therefore be dispensed with, thereby leaving tapered sides 8 and 9 with smooth surfaces.

However they can have utility. Under ecclesiastical law one decade of beads is called a chaplet. A rosary represents a plurality of decades. As is well known to members of the faith to which this rosary pertains, the beads 80, 81 on sides 8 and 9 may be fingered and used to count prayers in lieu of manipulating the beads in slots 14, 15 as previously described.

Having shown and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, by way of example, it should be realized that structural changes could be made and other examples given without departing from either the spirit or scope of this invention.

What I claim is:

1. A rosary bead unit consisting of an inverted U- shaped housing having a face surface terminating in tapered opposite sides, and in sloping opposite ends, two oppositely disposed slots located on a medial line in said face surface, one slot having a length approximately two and one half times the length of the oppositely disposed other slot, an enlarged slot provided along said medial line and underlying said two oppositely disposed slots and forming two oppositely located parallel side rails, one in each of said tapered opposite sides, with shoulders in said side rails, a plurality of beads slidably mounted in said two oppositely disposed slots, four beads in number in the shorter of said two slots and ten beads in number in the longer of said two slots, each bead having a half round head and a fiat sliding surface, a ball smaller in diameter than said half round head integrally connected to said half round head at said flat sliding surface, a circular recess formed between said ball and said fiat sliding surface, said circular recess lying in the plane of a slot with said flat sliding surface slidably engaging said face surface and said ball lying parallel to said two cppositely disposed side rails.

2. A rosary bead unit consisting of an inverted U- shaped housing having a face surface terminating in tapered opposite sides and in tapered opposite ends, two oppositely disposed slots located on a medial line in said face surface, the longer of said two oppositely disposed slotsrhaving a length approximately two and one half times the length of the shorter of said two oppositely disposed slots, an enlarged slot provided along said medial line and underlying said two oppositely disposed slots forming two oppositely located parallel side rails, one in each of said tapered opposite sides with a shoulder formed in each of said side rails, a plurality of beads slidably.mounted in said two oppositely disposed slots, four beads in number in the shorter of said two slots and ten beads in number in the longer of said two slots, each bead having a half round head terminating in a flat sliding surface, a ball smaller in diameter than said half round head integrally connected to said half round head at said flat sliding surface, a circular recess formed between said ball and said fiat sliding surface, said fiat sliding surface slidably engaging said face surface, said balllying parallel to said two oppositely disposed side rails and a reenforcing strip secured on opposite sides to the inside surfaces of said tapered side walls and underlying said two oppositely located parallel side rails.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 184,365 Marker Feb. 3, 1959 2,376,266 Moore May 15, 1945 2,721,398 Alonso et al Oct. 25, 1955 

